Two former JPMorgan investment bank brokers were convicted by a US jury on Wednesday of manipulating gold prices after a trial that investigated practices known on Wall Street as “spoofing”, the Financial Times and Markets Insider reported.

A Chicago jury also convicted former head of global metals trading Michael Novak and former broker Gregg Smith of bank fraud, commodities fraud and attempted price manipulation.

“Spoofing” involves placing and quickly canceling orders to buy and sell an asset to create a false impression of demand for it.

The practice was banned in the United States by law in 2010 as part of a larger package to restore certain financial rules for investment banks and financial institutions in the wake of the economic crisis that followed the bursting of America’s housing bubble.

A jury found a third JPMorgan employee not guilty.

A huge fine was paid by JPMorgan

The convictions are a rare victory for the US Department of Justice in its efforts to combat financial crime.

In 2020, JPMorgan agreed to pay a $920 million fine after admitting that its employees manipulated both the Washington Treasury bond and precious metal futures markets.

The management of the investment bank then admitted that it had manipulated these markets for 8 years.

Two other JPMorgan employees were previously convicted of “spoofing.”

The bank was embroiled in a huge scandal in 2009 when, at the height of the global financial crisis, it decided to spend $138 million on the purchase of two luxury planes and the renovation of a hangar.

Last year, the CEO of Wall Street’s largest investment bank received a $33 million bonus on top of his base salary.